Dispatcher Didn’t ‘Grasp’ Danger of Suitcase

A Lawrence (Mass.) police dispatcher faces discipline after mishandling a 911 call reporting a suspicious suitcase left in front of the county courthouse. Police chief John Romero said a custodian call to report the luggage next to the front door, but the unnamed dispatcher sounded disinterested. “He just didn’t grasp it — a package, a courthouse. He should have understood the seriousness of the 911 call,” Romero said. Police eventually responded and determined the suitcase wasn’t a threat. Capt. Scott McNamara wrote a disciplinary letter to the dispatcher stating, “Having reviewed an audio tape transcription of the call it is clear to me that you failed to recognize and act on an emergent condition.” The chief will now decide what action to take against the dispatcher. Read more here, and watch a TV report about the incident. [Note: The FBI said this suitcase is not related to two similar incidents in other towns, where they believe objects were left as a distraction for bank and money exchange robberies.]